The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 29, 1917, Page 9

WE WANT YOU TO, PLOW UP THE. COAST ! - [ WE WOULD LIKE. SOME PLOWINGH OUT IN CAL. neighboring states is well under way. NEEDS SOME- BREAKING DONE The North Dakota farmer has made such a Y et - success with the new style of political plowing that he has been asked to help out in other states. The work in the It is just the right season for the work. The soil is in excellent condition for turning over. OVER (NTO WISCONSIN There are plenty of willing h.ands to co-operate and a fine crop is certain. Broad furrows have already been turned in Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana. The stubble of political corrup= tion and the weeds of market graft are being turned under and the ground made ready for a clean crop that will bring prosperity to the farmers of the Northwest. . Three Men With Old Gang Affiliations Steal Name and \ . - Mock Purposes of Farmers’ Organization ; FAKE organization calling it- self the “Minnesota Nonparti- corporated in St. Paul to fight the real Nonpartisan League. It is the creation of Old Gang politi- cians. It is the fruit of many midnight ban- quets downtown at which the slogan was “Anything to beat the Nonparti- san League.” It is the newborn child of the grain-lumber-iron ring of Min- nesota politics, with which is coupled Big ‘Business of other states. It is Minnesota politicians’ effort to-build a backfire. I One of its incorporators is J. A. Stoneberg, Republican state central committeeman prior to the last elec- tion, and bosom friemd of Boss Ed Smith of Minneapolis. The other prin- cipal incorporator is C. F. Johnson, * who has been trying for two months to arouse the Minnesota political chamber of commerce to the need -of adopting new tactics to fight the League. And the third incorporator is C. W. Blom- quist, a bright young clerk in the sec- retary of state's office, and clerk In the senate. The same men formed a second cor- poration called the “Nonpartisan Pub- lishing Company,” capitalized at $150,- 000 and announced they expect to start a paper to promote their scheme. THE REAL FORCE BEHIND THE SCHEME These are the advance line of skirm- ishers, as it were. They are not the real force back of the movement. A. A. D. Rahn of Minneapolis, distinguished lumber lobbyist, and friend of Stone- burg, is close to the heart of the new corporation. Eric L. Thornton, private gecretary to Governor Burnquist, and chairman of the Republican state cen- tral committee, is another of the direct- ing minds. Governor Burnquist him- gelf is believed to look with a far more friendly eye upon this legitimate child of the present political parties than upon the real Nonpartisan League. It was Thornton who engineered the little banquets where “anything to beat the Nonpartisan League” was the watch- word. 2 A Grouped into their separate groups, the forces back of this corporation, the “Minnesota Nonpartisan League,”. are the chamber of commerce, the sacred political ring of Minnesota, the f{ron magnates, and the lumber trust. These groups have nothing to gain for them- selves by the success of the real Non- partisan League. They have muph to gain if they can now monopolize a name that stands as well -with the people as the name “Nonpartisan League’ President A. C.'Townley of the Na- tional Nonpartisan League, headquart- san League” has just been in- - ers of which were recently established in St. Paul, says of the new movement: THEY CAN'T-CONTROL " < = i THE FARMERS’ LEAGUE “This move on the part of Big Busi- ness is the best evidence the farmers have, that the National Nonpartisan League can not be controlled by Big Business. Having exhausted every ef- fort to control the National Nonparti- san LeaguF. which originated in Nqrth Dakota, they now as a last resort, un- dertake to capitalize the name, and so undermine the movement. This is the allied chamber of commerce and poli- ticians in desperation trying to head off the farmers in their fight, by confusing them, and leading them into another organization bearing the same name, so they. can control the farmers and pre- vent them carrying out their program. “But they will. utterly fail. The League had the same things to meet in North Dakota. Every cunning, un- scrupulous trick the Old Gang could think of was tried in a vain effort to wreck the League there—and the re- sult was a statewide victory. The farmers of Minnesota are just as able to fight to a victory ‘as the farmers of North Dakota, and I have not the slightest doubt but that they will see through this political trick, and re- pudiate it. The people will know in the near. future just who are back of it.% A POLITICIANS TRICK TO DISRUPT .THE LEAGUE The brilliant idea is believed to be that of Johnson. Johnson has seen the handwriting on the wall®or some time, and being without a job that re- quired attention, he devoted himself to this scheme during January and February. ¢ The Old Gang in Minnesota saw that the antagonists of the League in North Dakota, who could be dragged into the daylight lost influence the moment they were seen. They saw how Jerry Bacon of the Grand Forks Herald bruised his kunckles trying to knock. the League out with bare fist methods. Here is the plan of Big Business in Minnesota to buck the Nonpartisan League. they can not corrupt the farmers’ organiza- tion they try another sly dodge. plot has been revealed at the very start. The game has been given away. The farmers _ know about it and will not be fooled. They saw how the so-called “Good Government League” fell down in its Sttompt 0 line nn axiirct the Teague people who were for good government. They determined, therefore, to conceal their fight as much as possible. The North Dakota so-called “Good Government League” had a name that ought to have appealed, thought these Minnesota plotters. But somehow it didn’t. The Minnesotans ¢ would do more than “cop onto” a good name— they would gobble up the Nonpartisan League itselff—name and program, “body, soul, and breeches.” And then they would incorporate so as to get a monopoly -of the name, and leave the real Nonpartisan League With both legs amputated on a stony road. It would be easier to wear the mask of the real League, than to do as some of its bitterest enemies have been doing for two years, and fight it in their own name. At least it might create confu- sion if they could be sly enough to get a running start before the Nonpartisan League could get next to their trick. ORGANIZER BETRAYS REAL PURPOSES OF “LEAGUE.” But they didn’t even get a secret start. Mr. Johnson: talked too much. He said, as quoted ' in the St Paul Daily News: : 7 “The purpose of our league is_ to work for woman’s rights, temperance, eight-hour day, government ownership, and exemptions for personal property ‘of less than $200, AND MANY OTHER PROGRESSIVE MEASURES. We shall charge members only $3 a year. ‘We think we are better qualified to do” this work than is the North Dakota or- ganization, and as they charge $16 for - two year's membership, we canm save the farmers of this state considerable money. There are many persons back- ing ‘the new organization, but-I gcan’t give their names.” T This is an official announcement from ths secretary of the publication branch of the new corporation. It is more than that. It is a confession that Knowing But their the entire purpose of the organization is to fight the real Nonpartisan League., TO BUY, FARMERS AT THIRTEEN COLLATZ APIECE If they really wanted the program advanced by the Nonpartisan League to be advanted, they would not try to organize an alleged parallel organiza- tion. They would co-operate with the *one that already has 20,000 members in Minnesota, and has shown how it can succeed with its program. But this sentence of Mr. Johnson shows the animus of the organization: “We think we are better qualified.”, In other words it is a fight for leader- ‘ship so far as they are concerned. They don’t like the leadership of the Non- partisan Leagyue. It is going in the wrong direction to suit them, and growing too fast. Again he says: “We shall charge members only $3 ° a year. . . . and as they charge $16 for two year's membership, we can save the farmers of this state consider- able money.” They are trying to buy the farmers for $13 a head. They are trying to make them think that the issues of a fundamental economic and political campaign should hinge on a membership fee. They are trying to arouse the firmers' sense of thrift and economy against the real Nonpartisan ,League. But they do not say where the thousands of dollars will come from ‘that will make up wh&t ‘the hoped-for . farmer members will fail to supply. It will come from the surplus: profits of every Big Business' concern in Minne- sota and adjoining states, which they set aside to fight their political battles. 'The chamber of commerce, the wealthy lumber barons, the steel trust, which has had f{ts fattest year from the Minnesota iron mines this year that it ever had, will gladly chip in to fill the Jackpot, and seo that the $150,000 pub- lishing estaslishment is used for the purpose for which it was established— to fight the people, popular government, the real Nonpartisan League, and state- owned industries, ROAD MAKING AND WATER Road making' is largely a matter of moisture control. 'When soil contains too much water it becomes mud, when it has too little moisture, it becomes dust. But there is a Certain moisture content at which soil packs hard. And this is just about the amount of mois- - ture that a sofl will readily hold. This can usually ‘be maintained in a road that has good drainage, that is well crowned so that the water will run off when it rains and that is free from grass and weeds. These, if allowed to grow, will soon draw the moisture out of the soil and so remove the binding material—Ex. Dept. N, D. Agri. Colleg LY . Fake League in Minnesota